Conduct Unbecoming

By Jenni Roussell

Colonel Mike Brandon is obliged to intervene in the custody dispute of a small child whose mother Captain Penny Gordon is a young Officer under his command.

 

  Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Gordon, Penny's soon to be ex-husband is a hard-nosed Cop with his own agenda and plenty on his plate back in Townsville.

 Set on a Military base in the Middle East where all the rules of deployment apply and back home in Townsville Australia where other events unfold with Colonel's adult family. The Story shows the predicament of modern family life set against a backdrop of service.

  

An attachment is formed between the Colonel and his subordinate and rumours abound.

Back in Townsville their situation alters significantly.

When a woman loves a man, he becomes her strength. But when a man loves a woman, she becomes his weakness.

For the Military there are many considerations. A Court Marshal threatens to ruin careers, reputations and  both their families.

 DSS Paul Gordon the ex-husband wreaks havoc on the home front.

 But did they cross the line? 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jenni Roussell
• Release date: Oct 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223492856

Jenni Roussell

Jenni Roussell is a naughty old tart with a wicked sense of humour. She lives with her husband of fifty-five years and her latest canine side kick, a spoiled miniature foxy called ZsaZsa, because she can wind men around her little paw. They all live in a tiny village in the Wairarapa with less than one hundred and fifty residents who enjoy many secrets and stories. 

Book preview

Chapter One:

BASE CAMP SOMEWHERE in the middle east:

Penny Gordon felt absolutely ‘rat shit’ her words, and she had good reason to use them. Right now, she must put her emotions in her pocket. The bulchy young man sat his facial muscles twitching annoyance while he watched the clock.

‘Don’t get your knickers in a knot Corporal, you’re not the only pebble on the beach.’ Captain Penny Gordon glowered at the impatient soldier.  ‘You can’t leave my clinic for another ten minutes.’  The Corporal didn’t speak, he remembered irritated, nine months earlier in Townsville he had suffered anaphylactic shock when given adrenaline to treat his nasty reaction to the poisonous hairy caterpillar. Today he had simply had a ‘flu shot. But the efficient Captain Gordon did everything by the book.  

They were both part of an over three hundred strong contingent to the middle east as a segment of the country’s ongoing commitment to the fight against ISL and global terrorism. Being on deployment in an unsafe part of the world meant the rules changed. Everyone became vigilant.

Penny felt agitated because her husband a police officer back in Townsville had facetimed her telling her he planned to file for divorce.  It hadn’t been a complete surprise. The surprise came when he ignored their plan to wait until after her deployment had finished and have the conversation and hopefully work things out. But he couldn’t wait.  She felt like the injured party, and it infuriated her.  After all it had been him having an affair with a work colleague.  A mutual friend had texted her photos of the pair together in compromising situations and it all made sense. His working late, complaining about their practically nonexistent sex life being all her fault. His distance and coldness when they were together. The things he’d said on the phone were hurtful and now the final blow came when she could not be there to defend herself. He intended applying for full custody of their three-year-old daughter. 

Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Gordon had always been shrewd. He pleaded with Penny to take the deployment.

‘It’ll be good for your career hun,’ It didn’t hurt she would be paid more than him especially with the deployment allowance and the fact she had two degrees, a Bachelor of Science Nursing, and a Bachelor of Physiotherapy. Well qualified and with six years in the military she wanted to make Major before she turned thirty-three and it seemed possible.

‘I THINK THIS DEPLOYMENT will be good for both of us, things haven’t been great between us lately.’ He told her honestly but then added, ‘this little bit of space between us will give us time.

to sort out our priorities.’   Only his priorities were clearly defined in his mind and Delia Cunningham, the youngest detective on his team with her hot body, too tight tee shirts and flirty attitude ranked right up there as the most urgent. Penny Gordon looked at the clock on the wall.

‘You’re free to go Corporal.’ He stood up thanking her and disappeared down the hall.  Sitting at her nurses’ station in the clinic she sighed, looking around the room only one more hour and her shift would be over.  The phone rang.

‘Colonel Brandon, Captain will you come to my office when you have a few minutes I have something for you.’ Mike Brandon sounded very businesslike; a good Commander he had a reputation as a hard taskmaster, but he had a job to do. 

‘Thank you, Sir, I’ll be about an hour I’m here on my own at the moment.’  Wondering what he wanted she busied herself checking the drugs cupboard.  Before long, Lieutenant Eddie Smith a nurse and Major Phil Turner the medical officer returned to the prefabricated clinic.

‘Captain, I’m here to take over now.’ Lieutenant Smith seemed relaxed.  ‘This must be a first we have so few patients in the hospital. It’s eerie.’ He’d started to think about it. ‘You don’t think the top brass are clearing the decks for something do you?’ he looked at the Major.

‘No, you have a fertile imagination Lieutenant, I simply think we’re pretty healthy and things have been quiet.’ Hearing the banter Captain Gordon smiled as she left them to it.  

‘Enter’ his voice reverberated around the prefabricated office.

‘Take a seat Captain,’ he held out his open hand at a chair.  ‘I asked you to come because your husband sent some papers for me to serve you with.’ Looking across at her, he’d never really noticed her before, sure she’d been around but not sitting opposite him looking fragile, her big green eyes entreating him as she apprehensively tried not to chew her lip. 

‘I suspected it might be coming sir,’ she hung her head. Then suddenly she whipped her head up and her green eyes widened. ‘But I never expected him to ...’ her voice cracked, and she swallowed breathing deeply to control herself. ‘I never expected he would go for full custody of our daughter.’  Her breath hitched and he wanted to comfort her but didn’t, acutely aware of what the military considered appropriate, he stood up and walked around to the front of his desk and sat on it, his knees inches from hers.

‘He can’t, surely the courts wouldn’t allow it?’ The Colonel said, and turning her head slightly she sniffed gently as she told him.

‘Paul is a detective, senior sergeant; those guys have ways of getting exactly what they want.’  Mike ignored her remark and instead asked, ‘you said you were not surprised about the divorce.

PAPERS: HAD YOU BEEN having problems before you left?’ Certain she must have been he watched her face.

‘I knew something didn’t feel right, but I didn’t really know what, until two different people sent me photos of him in compromising situations with a subordinate of his. She’s fifteen years his junior.’ She looked up at him and he couldn’t help noticing her full lips, funny how you can work more or less together and never notice those things.

‘Do his superiors know about this?’ He frowned uncomfortable he changed his posture. Penny shrugged and raised her eyebrows.

‘Probably not.  I don’t want to be the one to tell them.’ Gazing away from him at a wall in the windowless office she added. ‘Because all he’d get is a slap on the hand with a wet bus ticket. But you can bet your bottom dollar he’d make my life hell.’  Mike Brandon sat thinking; he understood exactly how that situation would work. He’d seen this sort of thing happen to other staff members while they were away serving their country before, and sometimes it got ugly. The question is what could he do to help her?

‘Would it help if I wrote to him? or better still had one of our Lawyers do it. Just to point out the lay of the land, after all the military has a vested interest in the wellbeing of the troops and we cannot stand by and allow this to happen without supporting you.’  Surprised, he watched her smile. A beautiful smile she gave him too.

‘Forgive me for being skeptical, it would certainly let him know I won’t roll over and I have support.  What good it will do I don’t know. Cops fight dirty.’ Shrugging again she sighed.

‘With a child so young it’s imperative both parents are involved in providing a stable family life.’ The Commander added ‘The Defence force has a real responsibility here, after all we need expertise and talent like yours Captain. We have the wrap around services of home care, and family support for times just like this.  For the sake of all the parents in the military we need to get it right.  You have no family in Townsville I believe?’ He narrowed his eyes waiting for her answer.

‘All my family farm out of Bendigo Sir.’

‘I see, I’ll give this some more thought and get back to you Captain’ he stood, and she’d been dismissed. Thanking him she picked up the manila envelope and left with her divorce papers.

Back in the makeshift accommodation she shared with Captain Melanie Simons from Logistics, Penny plopped down on her bed and wished she could face time her baby. But it would be the middle of the night in Townsville. It annoyed her that she had to go through Paul to get a

CHANCE TO TALK WITH Chloe. However, due to his shifts and the frenetic lives they lived there seemed no other way. Until very recently it had worked just fine, however recently Paul had been dragging the chain. Bastard she thought, wondering what game he might be playing.  Then she opened the envelope and read the divorce papers.  Penny only had three more months to go on this deployment, but Paul couldn’t wait. ‘Bastard’ this time she said it out loud.

‘What’s up Pen?’ Melanie sat on her bed and undid her boots. ‘Paul?’ 

‘Who else, do you know he had the bloody cheek to send the Commander the divorce papers to serve on me. How embarrassing?’ She looked across at Melanie as she spoke.

‘Shit Pen, the guy’s an absolute arse. Did it occur to you he must have planned it? Because we all know how long the snail mail takes to arrive here. He only dropped the divorce thing on you a couple of weeks ago, right?’ Melanie lay down on her bed as Penny nodded, agreeing but ticked off.

‘If I didn’t have to work tomorrow, I’d get shit faced tonight.’ she pushed the papers back in the manila envelope. ‘But right now, I’ve got a load of washing to do.’ Melanie called to her as she left their prefabricated barracks.

‘I’m gonna get a power nap but I promised a couple of the guys I’d get a drink in the mess before dinner. Join us, it’ll take your mind off Paul.’

Letting her hair down and brushing it furiously felt good. All day it had been pulled back and wound around into a bun so tight her head ached. She showered and changed into some comfy black trousers, a scoop neck pink top with her hair bouncing around and down her back Penny felt human again.  Melanie called to her, and the pair set off to the officer’s mess, stopping in the foyer of the prefabricated structure to read the noticeboard.  Melanie, keen to get a team together for quiz night, read the details intently, when the Commander came in with his off sider.  Men’s voices boomed around the small foyer. The two women turned, and the Commander acknowledged them with a word.

‘Ladies.’ Thinking about her embarrassment over the divorce papers Penny flushed then acknowledged him in the same manner. ‘Sir,’ his eyes widened but he kept on going. Captain Penny Gordon had always been a stunning woman but hid it in her uniform. He instantly appraised her now on sensory overload. Thick wavy dark hair, great figure not seen under a uniform and a full luscious mouth. The final assault on his senses came as he pushed open the door to the mess, her fragrance assailed him, and his hand lingered on the door handle while he shook his head to free it from the thoughts he should not have been having.

‘YOU KNOW PENNY IF YOU were on our quiz team, we’d have a good chance.’ Melanie said as Penny screwed up her nose, she never fancied quizzes. With only three months of this

deployment left she had work to do before she returned home. Besides, she tended to keep to herself or her immediate team.

They joined Melanie’s friends for their pre-dinner drink and Penny became aware on more than one occasion Colonel Mike Brandon had caught her eye, is he watching her, she wondered. Oh God I hope like hell he doesn’t feel sorry for me. To Penny it would be too much having people pitying her because her husband left her for a chick fifteen years younger than him.

Chapter Two:

TOWNSVILLE FAR NORTH Queensland Australia:

Paul Gordon had just been informed a body was found floating in the breakwater not far from the Ville Resort Casino.

‘Gees just what I need to start the day,’ he organized his team to retrieve the body and secure the scene. Thankful Delia had been away on a course for a few days he had to figure out a way to get her transferred to another station but working the same rotation, so their shifts were in sync.  If Penny didn’t contest the divorce, he could be free of her in four months. Thank God for her deployment.  Paul enjoyed Delia, a young cop on his team. They spoke the same language, enjoyed the in-house jokes and the police culture.  The military had long held a fascination for him, but no longer he had lost interest. Their archaic traditions and demanding codes meant he had a short fuse when dealing with military life as it affected him and Penny. He used to think policework could be an all-encompassing way of life. Compared with the military it looked like just another day at the office, any office.  While there no one ever doubted Paul loved his little daughter, he didn’t really want sole custody. No way, it would impinge on his life with Delia. However, he planned to threaten it, so he had a bargaining chip. He felt sure Penny had learned of his affair with Delia through Dave McKenzie, another Senior Sergeant who worked at the same station.  A long-time friend who had a real soft spot for Penny, Dave a decent man felt disappointed with the way the relationship between Paul and Delia unfolded.  It need never have come to this, if Paul had been more professional in his dealings with his attractive young subordinate and paid proper attention to Penny and Chloe. He wouldn’t be in this situation and his family wouldn’t be hurting.

THE AUSTRALIAN BASE somewhere in the Middle East:

Medical officer Major Turner and nurse Captain Gordon had a full waiting room for today’s clinic. The patients were seen in the order they checked in unless they had an emergency. A young medic Corporal John Webster logged the cases bringing up their files electronically.  There were a few cases of sutures to be removed, any one of them could do those jobs. As they had time each of those cases would be checked and cleared by the doctor.  Two others who

COMPLAINED OF FEELING unwell were seen.  One case a suspected appendicitis, would be monitored

closely. The condition did not yet appear acute but needed to be taken seriously. The doctor thought it better to admit the patient to the base hospital and observe him rather than allow him out on some exercise and the thing flares up and ruptures before they can deal with it. He prescribed antibiotics. The other a patient who complained of feeling unwell presented with a clear case of tonsillitis. The doctor confined him to bed and barracks for a couple of days.  The next case a young engineer with a nasty rash cause unknown.

‘This rash on the palms of your hands sapper Russell, how long have you had it?’ The doctor said checking the patient’s throat and glands. ‘Mmm,’ Phil Turner the MO murmured, ‘Captain Gordon, we need a blood test.  A rapid plasma reagin (RPR) please.’ A knowing look exchanged between them; this blood test for syphilis would be needed.  ‘Have you had unprotected sex?’ Phil Turner blankly asked to the man’s horror.

‘I haven’t had sex in nine months sir. What do you think it is? because I feel like crap.’ The unhappy soldier moaned; he’d attended all the lectures about STDs ‘Gees my wife will spit the dummy if I’ve got the clap. But I just can’t have because I haven’t had sex.’ The doctor ignored him and went to the computer.  While Penny took the blood for the test, Phil Turner looked for other possibilities. Both Penny and the doctor understood Syphilis is called the great imitator as it presents with the symptoms of any number of other conditions. 

‘At ease Sapper sit down.’ Penny could see the man didn’t look well and while Syphilis can be treated with a course of penicillin shots, it shouldn’t be given until the diagnosis had been confirmed because the signs and symptoms may well be for some other serious underlying condition.  The doctor went on to ask, ‘have you had any sores or lesions on your genitals, drop your pants soldier. Mmm, we’ll have to isolate you till his test results came back in three to five days.’ They were tested at the American base down the road where they would be checked in their lab.

‘Major, do you have any objections to me testing him for all the local mosquito born viruses?’ Penny asked the doctor who frowned for a minute.

‘Providing they don’t cost an arm and a leg,’ then he smiled. ‘Okay, good thinking ninety-nine’ he joked recognizing his nurse as a clever woman as he ticked the boxes on every test he could think of, and Penny drew more of the patient’s blood.

‘Why doesn’t he believe me Captain? I mean about the unprotected sex.’ the earnest young soldier asked within earshot of the Major.

‘HE’S A SCIENTIST THEY don’t believe anything unless it can be proven.’ Smiling at him, Penny advised. 

‘No, the reason is people tell lies, and it’s a problem.’ Came the Major’s curt reply. Penny breathed deeply the man had no bedside manner, private practice patients would never stand for it. Still, he excelled at his job.  The medic came in announcing they had one more case and a message for the Major which he handed him.  The message required the doctor to phone the Commander, which he did in his tiny bolt hole of an office.

‘Major Turner, you called Sir.’  Only one more case for the morning and it couldn’t be over soon enough for Major Turner.

‘Thanks for returning my call, Major,’ he hesitated slightly embarrassed. ‘I’ve got this bloody pain in the neck,’ Phil Turner snorted a little chortle.

‘You too sir.’  The Commander rolled his eyes and if they could have seen each other, Phil would have realised his flippant remark had not been welcome. 

‘Not exactly major, but yes, we all have those.  I must have slept funny.  I need you to check it, anti-inflammatory medication is not working. Can you come by my office on the way to lunch?’  Phil agreed to see him in half an hour.

The last soldier injured his rotator cuff during sport. Fortunately, he’d not torn it, and although it appeared to be on the mend Captain Gordon massaged it and checked his mobility then gave him some exercises to do.  On this deployment she acted as both nurse and physio.

In the Commander’s windowless office, the doctor checked him out.

‘Classic case of wry neck. You need to see the physio.’ he watched the Colonel winced in pain as he examined him ‘Have you ever had this before?’

‘Never, just woke up with it, bloody painful too.’ he complained rubbing his neck. ‘Can’t turn my head to the right.’  The major picked up the phone and dialed the clinic extension.

‘Captain you’re still there obviously. I have a patient for you to see right away. He’s on his way now an acute wry neck,’ he told the Commander to go down to the Clinic ‘Captain Gordon is there now.’

‘Take off your shirt sir.’ Penny pulled the Commander’s file up on the computer. ‘Now let me look at you. Sit on the examination table.’  He did as instructed, and she deftly examined his neck.  ‘I’ll unlock your wry neck joint, I bet it’s painful’ Her fingers felt firm yet gentle, and he said nothing. Thank God her close proximity temporarily distracted him from the pain. The smell of her, not the perfume of the previous night, this time it smelled like a clean feminine smell,

POSSIBLY SOAP, HIS long legs blocked her from getting as close as she needed to be. They shuffled about till she said.

‘I think you’ll be better on the massage bed.’ Pointing to the table opposite he stood up and she told him to sit on the stool first so she could work on the joint. Her strong fingers pressed and elongated the tangled lumpy muscle, he groaned. ‘Now lay face down on the massage bed.’  Silently her fingers worked on his neck muscles. While it hurt it felt good at the same time and he enjoyed feeling better. Still not pain free just better. As her hands worked to normalize his muscle length-tension-ratio he drifted off to a pain-free plane until her voice brought him back to reality.  ‘You’ll probably have some residual muscle spasm and swelling; you won’t be able to see it without twisting. It’s important to normalize your neck muscles and joint function so we’ll schedule some more treatment.  I’ve printed off a few exercises and their frequency for you to do as well.’  Putting his shirt back on he thanked her and for a moment the pair sat opposite each other and for the first time she noticed his vivid blue eyes smiling appreciatively. 

‘You’re welcome, Sir. Any issues get back to me. Don’t hesitate.’ He left without mentioning her domestic situation and she certainly never intended bringing it up.

BACK IN TOWNSVILLE:

Senior Sergeant Dave McKenzie drove across town to collect his six-year-old twin daughters who had been on a playdate at the home of their school friend. When he realized the vehicle in front of him pulling a trailer had a faulty brake light. The vehicle made a sudden left turn into a short cul de sac and stopped.  He stopped before taking the turn. He recognized the driver, Delia Cunningham. As soon as it registered with him, she had pulled up on the driveway of Paul and Penny Gordon’s home, Dave sat tight, watching proceedings.  Delia got out of her vehicle, opened the front door of the house with a key and began unloading her vehicle, then she went inside and next thing the garage door goes up and she started unloading her trailer.  Penny’s vehicle sat in the garage but not Paul’s. Quickly he took several photos on his phone.  When she closed the garage door, he felt he could continue his journey and collect his twin daughters.  As soon as Dave arrived home, he confided in his wife Jackie.

‘Look at these pics Jax, God I felt voyeuristic taking them I don’t know what Paul’s playing at, Delia is obviously moving into the family home.’  He turned to watch his three little daughters all glued to the Disney channel, smiling at them he turned back to Jackie and asked,

‘What do you think I should do about it?’ Going to the fridge he got out a bottle of wine and poured two glasses.   

‘It must be so hard for Penny; she didn’t really want to accept this deployment, but Paul pushed her to take it. Nothing will convince me he didn’t have an agenda back then gee that’s about nine months ago.’ Jackie said sipping her wine. ‘I’ve always liked Penny ever since we were in the antenatal classes together, we became very close. I found her so helpful, she never minded if I had a worry about the twins or Olive, she’d always answered my questions. Also, we connected in a fun way, I love her playful sense of humour. She needs to know what Paul’s up to and so does the department. Can’t you tell them?’

‘The decent thing to do would be talk to him first. I’ll do it tomorrow, here you text her those pics and tell her. It makes me sick.’ Dave slid his mobile across the bench.

SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE East:

In his quarters Colonel Mike Brandon phoned his wife, on the family landline.

‘Hi Rachel, where’s your mother she’s not answering my texts or her phone?’ He said surprised his eighteen-year-old daughter answered the phone. 

‘I love you too Dad,’ she chirped sarcastically.  ‘She’s out can’t she have a life. I mean it’s not like you’ve been here for the last nine months or more.’ Mike wondered why she sounded so hostile; he felt a little sad.

‘I know you’re all grown up and at Uni now Rachel, but you could flick your old man a text now and then or even answer the ones I send you.’ he groaned, his neck ached again.

‘What’s your problem then?’ her tone flippant, he sighed,

‘I’ve got a pain in the neck.’

‘I am not a pain in the neck.’

‘I didn’t say you were, I said I had a pain in my neck.’